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The first trailer for the upcoming English language remake of the 2022 horror movie Speak No Evil has dropped, and it looks eerily similar, if not exactly the same, as the original, leaving fans questioning, 'what's the point?' But without judging it at face value, I can’t help but wonder if the remake has a little more up its sleeve.
In the footage, we see an American family meet a British couple (James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi) and their child whilst on holiday, but when the Brits invite their newfound friends over to their country home, the guests soon realize that their summer pals are not what they once seemed. The teaser is incredibly chilling, with a terrifying McAvoy embodying the most unhinged father figure - but the issue is, it’s exactly the same as the original.
Directed by Christian Tafdrup, the original movie follows a Danish family who visit a friendly Dutch family they met on vacation months earlier, but their reunion turns sour when they realize the holiday friends they made are not all they seemed to be. Sound familiar? With the two movies appearing to be seemingly identical, horror fans have been asking themselves if there is any point to a remake.
What's the point?
From the trailer alone, it looks as though the Speak No Evil remake, directed by The Woman in Black’s James Watkins, follows the exact same premise, only swapping out the unsuspecting Danish family for Americans and the villainous Dutch family for Brits. Even worse, it's even shot-for-shot identical at times! Also, a lot of the tension from the original comes from the fact that both families speak different languages, causing greater separation and rivalry between the two, one that may be hard to achieve in the English language remake.
Worse yet, the remake’s trailer gives away major plot points for the original, including the cut-out tongue of the British couple’s young son. It seems as though horror fans have picked up on this too, as one tweeted: "So.. the Speak No Evil trailer is just *the entire movie* huh!" Another added, "The fact that they showed all of the things that made the original Speak No Evil so scary, in this trailer for the remake, is so disappointing."
However, although the remake looks like a shot-for-shot retelling of the original, we have to remember that the film is coming from Blumhouse, the same production company that brought us Get Out and Insidious. So, maybe the filmmakers have something a little different up their sleeves with this one, that they didn't show in this trailer… the ending.
A red herring
It seems bizarre that Blumhouse would remake a movie two years after its release, and then give away the whole plot in the first trailer. But this may be the point - are they telling us what happens already because they are going to switch up the ending?
Anyone who has seen the 2022 version’s shocking finale will remember it well. Its raw and visceral nature haunted me for days after, which makes me wonder if it may be too much for a mainstream audience. In this sense, it seems likely that the remake will shake up the ending so that the evil family gets their comeuppance. A happier ending would certainly be more fitting for the Hollywood take on this tale. In the trailer we do see the victims fighting back more than they did in the original, plus more action including an explosion and a Terrifier 2-style bleach attack.
Another saving grace for the remake lies within its impressive cast led by McAvoy, who proved in Split that he is very capable of playing a villain, and Franciosi, who is fast becoming a horror queen, recently starring in Shudder’s Stopmotion and Dracula adaptation The Last Voyage of the Demeter. The film also stars Blade Runner 2049’s Mackenzie Davis and Monster’s Scoot McNairy.
For now, it seems a little premature to judge the upcoming flick based on just the trailer alone, but with McAvoy and Blumhouse behind the project, I don’t think we should expect a straightforward remake from Speak No Evil.
Speak No Evil hits theaters on September 13. The original is available to watch on Shudder now.
For more, see our list of the best horror movies to add to your watchlist, or keep up to date with upcoming horror movies heading your way this year.
